What Doesn't Kill You
by But I Have Promises To Keep
Summary: When Ken loses something very important to him, will it prevent him from working with his new partner to figure out a rather strange case? Pairings: Mal/Natara, Ken/O.C. & maybe Amy/Kai. Better summary inside.
1. Chapter 1: Ken's Secret

**So, I just have a few things I have to say first. I know there aren't a whole lot of FanFics about Ken, so I figured I'd make at least the beginning of this one about him (But will be adding in a Maltara later, promise.) You might have noticed that I started writing in first person, and my explanation for this is I'm trying something new since I always write in third person or omnipresent P.o.V. Also, I'm sorry if the beginning is a little boring, as I'm introducing an O.C., and need to get in some character development in for her and establish her and Ken's relationship. I'll try to get to the main story line soon though, so I'm sorry if you think the beginning is boring.**

Mal Fallon

None of us knew where Ken would disappear to for hours at a time. Or why he didn't go anywhere with us anymore, or why he often came in late to work, looking tired. He would leave at odd times, simply opening up his cell phone and receiving a text. He'd glance worriedly at his phone, then looking straight to where Captain Yeong was standing or opening up her office door and saying something we couldn't hear. She would either respond with a knowing glance or nod, and Ken would leave. This happened increasingly often, and we had know idea where he would go. We often questioned Captain Yeong about it, but she would sternly state that it wasn't her place to answer these questions. That Ken would tell us in his own time. This worried us, especially when he came walking in one day wearing a hospital bracelet. Especially when he ignored our questions towards it, and refused to take it off.

Ken Greene

Once again I was going to Annie. I had only told one person about her, and that wasn't my choice. I couldn't keep Captain Yeong in the dark, she was the only reason I was allowed to leave if Annie asked me to come. And Annie didn't want anyone to know about her, she didn't want pity from strangers. I wish every day I could have done things differently, that maybe I had seen the signs sooner. I met Annie about a month ago, watching as she was taking pictures near a crime scene. At first I went to tell her off, thinking she was taking pictures of the scene. I later learned she was a photographer, that she was taking pictures of a nearby beach for a tourist pamphlet. I'm not sure what about her told me this, but I knew I could spend forever seeing her dark green eyes. That something about her was knowing, as if her eyes could see into the inner-workings of anyone's mind. That she was different from anyone I'd ever talked to. We started talking, and he found that within in a short week I cared for this woman more than anyone before her. Within that week I was dating Annie Bloom, and all seemed right with the world. But there was something wrong with Annie. She had bruises and she said they had no idea how they got there. She cut dates short, saying she was tired all the time. She always acted as if she were very sick. In one week I already hated seeing her like that, even though she said she had been like this for a long time. I insisted she go to the doctors. She promised she would, and called me after I was coming home from work one day. I was worried, her tone was so serious. Annie, who saw the beauty and potential in a rusty swing set sounded like she was near tears. I met her by the strip of beach where we had met, and she had handfuls of pamphlets as if she were opening a bank account. I was surprised how calm she was when she handed me the pamphlet with the three words that changed her life. '_Acute lymphocytic leukemia'_.  
>"They said I have six months to live" she explained calmly "That the cancer has gone too far, and it's become terminal".<br>I knew I was trying to reason with not her, but with fate as I said "Six months is a long time. They can give you chemotherapy, there's still a chance".  
>Her eyes were hollow as she said "The doctors told me I have six months to live. I disagree". I looked up at her, ready to hear that I might have a little bit longer with her. That there was hope for the person I had fallen in love with so quickly. Then she added "I don't think I have that long". That was when the world came crashing down. That was why I was going to visit a dying woman. Why I was going to see Annie.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2: Who I Trust

Ken Greene

Annie didn't like me to see her while she was getting her chemotherapy. She told me she was deathly afraid of needles, and that she didn't want me to see her that way. That it couldn't be helped. I also couldn't see her during mornings or evenings, as she was tired a lot and slept like a cat. Because of that there was only a short amount of time I was allowed to visit. We made a routine, she would text me when she was done getting her medication and I would come. I missed work a lot, but Captain Yeong was very understanding. She said I needed to value the time we had left. I pretended she hadn't said this. I never told Annie I missed work for her, I know she would feel bad so I told her I switched to night shift. I wanted to tell the others about Annie, bring her some visitors as she had none. She was an only child, her mother whom she had inherited her leukemia from was long gone. Her father had disowned her when she refused to go to collage and be a lawyer like him. He kept her alive, but paying for her treatments was his only gesture of love towards his only child. He refused to see her, and Annie had once said maybe the bad blood between them would lessen towards the end and she would see him again. I told her this was possible, and I would drag him here if that's what she wanted. She smiled at this. I told her if she wanted more company, I could introduce her to my friends. I had told her much about Mal, Natara, Amy Kai and all the others so much that she practically knew them. She refused. "I don't want people to look at me with pity" she had said. I told her they wouldn't, but she still refused. "I don't need more people poking at me while I die" she said grimly. She laughed lightly at this as there was a nurse in the room with us and had scowled at her. I didn't laugh, but knew Annie was the only person you'd ever see laughing on her deathbed. It's been nearly a month since Annie got her death sentence, and today I walked in on her running her fingers through her thinning hair as she sat in a chair by her bathroom. She let the few strands of her dark auburn hair fall in the nearby trashcan. "It's time" she said, and I noticed a razor sitting on a nearby table. I nodded and watched as Annie weakly went into the bathroom, and I followed. I hadn't noticed how thin her hair was getting, how there were places the size of a quarter that were completely bald. She grabbed the razor and plugged it in, handing it to me. I was shocked, I didn't realize she wanted me to be the one to do it.  
>"I wanted someone I trust to do it" she said lightly. A half and hour later Annie's long auburn hair was in the trashcan, and a now-bald Annie returned to the chair she was sitting at before. She looked different, her eyes looked larger and it gave her the appearance of a small owl. She didn't even look in a mirror as she sat down, already tired from standing for that short amount of time. "Ken?" she said softly.<br>"What?".  
>"Remember when I told you I was going to die?". I nodded, unsure how she could even ask that question. "Why did you stay? I would have been easier to just walk away from me. Why didn't you?". Her eyes, which I now noticed were more of a hazel color rather than green, bore deep into me. I knew she wanted to know if I stayed out if pity, for she didn't want that.<br>"Because I love you" I said casually "I did before this and I will after this is over". She sighed, and I knew she was getting annoyed. She had already accepted her fate, and didn't like me implying that her life would go on after this. She never contradicted me though, perhaps because she was afraid I might leave. As I looked over to tell her it was probably time for me to go, that she should get some rest, I noticed that she was staring longingly out the window. The sky was stormy grey, but she looked like she wanted nothing more than to run outside, to pretend that she didn't have a care in the world. I knew she missed going outside and taking photo's every day, that had become he life. Now her life had been taken away. "I miss going to the beach" she said lightly. I wasn't surprised by this, the cancer had become so severe that she could barely leave her room, let alone go outside.  
>"Maybe you can go back again" I said. I still hadn't given up on her, and I didn't want her to give up on herself. This time however she didn't give me the look she often gave me when I said things like this.<br>"Really?" she said. I think what she was really thinking of was going there before she died, but I hadn't considered that at that time.  
>"Yeah. I'll take you back there".<br>"Promise?".  
>"Promise". I hadn't noticed that she had slowly crossed the room over to me. She had lost so much weight that she barely made faint footfalls on the floor. I watched as she took a thin finger and slipped it under her hospital bracelet, slipping it over her thin and bruised wrist. Somehow she unbuttoned the plastic button without breaking it, and quickly wrapped it around my wrist before I even noticed. "So you don't forget" she said. She held my wrist in her hands for a moment, feeling my pulse between her thin fingers. For a second I almost told her to put her bracelet back on, that I didn't want her to get in trouble. She seemed to see this on my face, for then she said "Don't worry, I can get another one easily". She smiled, which made the sickly paleness of her face seem to be more lively than before. I smiled warmly back, knowing our days were numbered. Knowing that I was a fool for loving a dying woman. Of course I could have turned my back on her as soon as things got tough, but that's not who I was now. And who I am now is someone who loves Annie Bloom.<p> 


	3. Chapter 3: To Laugh on Your Deathbed

Mal Fallon

Ken continued his pattern of missing work through two months. Each day he seemed more distracted, seemly having more on his mind.  
>Natara said one morning as Ken rushed out the door as if his life depended on it "You don't think Ken is sick do you?".<br>I only looked at her strangely. That seemed fairly plausible. Why else would he be wearing a hospital bracelet? Or continue to look more worried every day? Natara said I should say something, he was my best friend after all. I did, the next time I saw him. He said he was fine, that none of us had anything to worry about. I told him he wasn't the same. That he didn't go anywhere with us after work like he used to, that we just wanted to know what was going on. He said it was nothing that concerned us. I had never seen him act so cold, so harsh to all those around us. He even shut out Amy, whom he was always fairly close to. I joked that he must have some secret girlfriend that he didn't want us to know about. That he didn't want us to think he'd gone soft because he found someone he loved. Looking back, I wished I hadn't joked like that.

Natara Williams

It wasn't until a week until her death that Ken told us about Annie. It was late in March, three months after he began behaving oddly. He came in looking distraught. He told us vaguely that he might need to leave very suddenly, and finally explained why. I had never seen someone look so utterly helpless, watching someone die when they couldn't do anything about it. He said Annie wanted to meet us, that she didn't want pity and that was the reason she didn't want to meet us before. We all said we'd be glad to meet her, and I think he appreciated it. He said she wanted to meet the people she had heard so much about. We met her when there were only two days left to her life. She looked frail, as if she were made of glass. Her eyes were deeply sunken in and her skin had an unnatural pallor. She looked older than Ken, even though I was told she was a year younger. Her hair was gone, and she looked like a sick animal that had been taken to the vet too late. She lay curled on her side, talking in hushed tones. This was a woman who knew she was going to die. But she didn't act like it. She laughed faintly at Kai's lighthearted remarks, although I noticed she winced as she laughed. Ken often shot Kai sharp looks for this, but I think Annie liked being able to laugh again. Amy acted different, she smiled in the face of the dying woman. I could tell this was a facade though, that she was only pretending that all was right with the world. I knew it must seem like a breath of fresh air for Annie after all the grim faces that must have passed. Mal didn't say anything the whole time, and I knew it must be hard for him to be there. After all, he had lost his own mother to cancer. I talked to the woman for a while, she seemed very interested in my job. She though it was fascinating, I had found many people thought so. That is what we talked about as I sat next to her, as if she weren't dying right before my eyes. As if we had simply met as we bumped into each other. She showed me what she did. Above her was a large cork board with photos on them. Some were old, some of them had a little girl with auburn hair and a woman that looked just like her. They were obviously taken by someone else. There were nature scenes, beaches, sunsets and flowers. Her eyes lit up a little more when she talked about them, making her seem a little more alive than she was before. _'Everyone has someone they love'_ I thought '_And this woman is who Ken Greene loves'._ But Ken didn't know he could count the time he would see her again on one hand.


	4. Chapter 4: The Promise

Ken Greene

I'm proud to say I kept my promise. The day after the others had been there, I took Annie down to the beach. I don't think it mattered, the doctors said I could do it, and I think it was because she was going to due soon anyways. I ended up half-carrying her to the edge of the shore, and carrying her back. She was dead weight, as she was so weak she could barely hold onto me. But she was so light by this point it hardly mattered. We only stayed a few minutes though, but Annie seemed satisfied. As I pulled her close for a moment she made a panicked noise as if I might drop her, but I reassured her "I gottcha". I had never seen anyone look more defeated that at that point. She tried to wrap her arms around my neck so she wouldn't be so much of a dead weight, but could barely constrict the muscles in her arm. Although we just came from the beach, she still smelled of disinfectant and a certain sour smell that people on medication sometimes have. What I did after that is something I'm not proud of. I bid her goodbye after that, watching as she fell asleep right before my eyes. Somehow I knew that she wouldn't wake up again, but I still left. Annie died that night, but as she said, it couldn't be helped.

Amy Chen

There was something different with Ken after that. Something that had changed. We all knew Annie must have died, even though he never said she did. You could see it in his face the next morning, that look of loss. This bothered me the whole morning, and I'm not entirely sure why. I think maybe it's because we all saw Ken as something indestructible, something that we had never seen break. But there was something broken there now, and I think this is what bothered me. I forget sometimes that even the people who seem the toughest are still human, that they still feel. All I know is things have changed now, and I'm sure it's not for the better. All I know is ever since we got back, there's something up with Mal. And there's something up with Natara too. I'm not sure what, but I'm sure whatever it is they're trying to hide it. 

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><p><strong>So now I can pick up with the actual storyline…<em>what are Mal and Natara keeping from everyone? And how will they all take it when the truth comes out?<em>**


	5. Chapter 5: After I Fall

**Alright, I had a _horrible_ day today. Let's just say I really wish I could just physically _smack the stupid_ out of people. I want to know if today was national act like a butt-hole day or something! I don't get mad that easily or quickly, but I was really ready to flip on someone today. (Not my friends or anything like that). Let's just say don't make decisions when you're mad…and don't push any buttons either. I abused a lot of buttons today…sorry for venting. On with review replies: **

**MaltaraFluff647:**  
><strong>Thanks, that really means a lot to me :). That's actually what my English teacher (who is the one who got me into writing) told me for the first short story project I ever did. I always thought writing was stupid until I had her class, then I really got into it because of her. Thanks for the review!<strong>

**mozzi-girl:**  
><strong>Thanks so much! I actually got the idea after Ken's side stories (I have to like Ken because he's a marine) I hope I didn't make you cry too much, I know some people don't like sad books but I love them. Thanks for the review!<strong>

**Jamzie13:**

**Thanks, I wanted to write for him for a while but always had problems with his character until his side stories, thanks for the review!  
><strong>

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><p><span>Natara Williams<span>

I was surprised when Ken came into work as soon as the day after Annie's death. I asked him if he was okay, he said he was fine. That life didn't simply stop for one person, then he walked away. I hadn't realized how true that was. That two months ago none if us would have cared that someone named Annie Bloom was dying. That as she walked home after receiving her death sentence, people went on with there business as usual. They didn't know or care that someone who stood among them had just had her world shattered. I guessed Annie had told him that. That morning I walked in, knowing something had changed. I hadn't realized just how much more things would change that day. That things would change forever when Mal said he needed to talk to me, alone.

Mal Fallon

Seeing Annie made me realize something, something I don't think people like to think about often. How short life is. How you can be here one day, and gone the next. It could happen to anyone, and it was even more likely to happen to me or Natara or anyone in our line of work. For some reason I didn't see it in the countless bodies that came in, or even when my mother or Tasha died right in front of me. I only saw it when I watched someone who could laugh on her deathbed, who didn't wallow in self-pity or ask for sympathy from others. Who didn't morn her own passing. It made me realize that I might not have time like she did to say farewells. That I probably won't know when the end is coming. I knew I needed to tell Natara the truth, that I loved her. That that was one thing that couldn't go unsaid.

Ken Greene

I wasn't sure what I expected of Annie. I only knew her for a week before her for a short time before future was taken away, what was I thinking? Did I really think in one week that I could spend the rest if my life with her? I don't know what I thought, but I know whatever I was thinking ended the day she came up to me with all those pamphlets. I'll never understand how she could be so collected as she told me of her impending death. I remembered a brief time when she was well enough to be home, how she would only go to the hospital to receive treatments. How I would stay up with her when she was sick, help her place her hair in a way that his the thinning spots. I'd never have done that before for any girl I'd ever met, but Annie? Something about her was different. She was happier when she was at home, for then she hadn't fully given up yet. It was when they said she needed to move into the hospital that something inside of her died. She moved out of her apartment, and another family moved in after her. That was the end of Annie's independence. Now I find myself forgetting that she's not here anymore, and I don't know how I could forget that. I kept checking my phone to see if Annie had called me. I went the wrong way as I went home from work, turning in the direction of the hospital instead. All I know is this town is full of ghosts for me now, and it doesn't look like they'll ever leave.

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><p><strong>Also, just want to know, did anyone else see 'The Woman in Black'? I saw it yesterday, but was slightly disappointed that it wasn't very scary. I loved the movie, it just wasn't as scary as I expected. And I was really looking forward to a good horror movie scare. Oh well, if you saw it what did you think?<strong>

**_What will happen to Ken? What will Natara make of Mal's confession, and what will the others make of it? Find out...hopefully tomorrow, maybe?_  
><strong>


	6. Chapter 6: Elena

Natara Williams

It's been a week since Annie died. A week since Mal took me aside, told me that life was to short. That he loved me. I felt bad for what I had said to him, although I think I wasn't to hard on him. I told him I loved him back, but now wasn't the time. We couldn't go showing off our relationship in front of Ken! He loved Annie, no matter how much he pretends he wasn't affected by her death. I know he's pretending that Annie's death didn't hurt, he doesn't want to show that he's vulnerable. He's preventing himself from being human. No, we couldn't do that to him. It would just be cruel. So Mal and I have put our relationship on hold. Mal told me I was right, and said we should keep this a secret for now. That it didn't matter as long as I knew, so there was nothing left unsaid. I do love Mal, and I realized this shortly after I was poisoned. After he risked everything to save me. I don't know what possessed me to misplace these feelings to Oscar, perhaps because he was there. Still, that's not the only thing that's changed around here. I was told that a new Detective is transferring in tomorrow, and that they're going to be Ken's new partner. I'm not sure how he'll take this, but I hope for his sake they get along alright. Because I think Ken may be near his breaking point.

Mal Fallon

I don't think anyone really knows what to make of the new arrival. She seems nice enough, but has such a thick accent you have to wonder where she's from. "Elena" she said as she walked in confidently that morning, greeting me as if she did so every morning. She sounds almost Russian, but it's a little different. She ends each word as if asking a question, ending each question by lowing her voice as if only stating something. She cuts her words off short, as if unsure she's saying them entirely right. This was well-known already this morning when Natara and I were bickering over a case, and she exclaimed "You two fight as an old married couple does!". Every head snapped up at this, and she blushed furiously. I saw her with Ken later, and they seemed to get along fine. She sort of has a look about her that doesn't hide what she does for a living. Her long honey-colored hair is swept back in a braid, and she's almost as tall as Ken and is strongly built. She looks about Kens age, if anything a year or two older. I just hope they can keep at their friendly relationship, since they're both scheduled for graveyard shift and Ken's has a hard case he's been working on. I just hope she knows what she's doing.


	7. Chapter 7: The Dead

Ken Greene

Elena is an odd sort of person. She often will hang on a longer word while reading, as if trying to work through her brain what it means. She's fluent enough in English, but her voice is quiet and she often resides in corners as if unsure where she belongs. The only exception was earlier, when she exclaimed loudly that Mal and Natara 'fight as an old married couple does!'. She mainly watched as I worked later that night, and I tried to show her the ropes. I hadn't even noticed she left, until she came back five minutes later with a cup of coffee. She set it down in front of me, and I merely looked at her questioningly.  
>"My understanding is that in this culture, when someone seems troubled you bring them a hot beverage" she said timidly, as if unsure if she was right.<br>"And what makes you think I'm 'troubled'?" I asked challengingly.  
>She only laughed airily. "Do not kid with me Detective Greene. I was going for a degree in forensic psychology until I set my standards a small amount lower and moved here to work. I think I can tell when something is wrong".<br>"Wow, you sound a lot like Natara" I said. She only tilted her head as if in question. "The woman you said fights with her partner like they're an old married couple" I reminded her.  
>She smiled faintly "Ah, yes. I do remember" she finally said. "She is with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, no?".<br>"Yes, that's her" I told her "Were you going to be a profiler?".  
>She nodded "Yes, but the college I was attending stopped offering that course. I moved here to continue my education, but found the English-written text books too hard to read. They did not have them in any other language than Spanish, so I gave it up".<br>I asked "Where did you go to college?"  
>"Ukraine, but I moved to Arizona a few years ago, I worked there briefly then came here. It was too hot there, I even find it hot here." she said. "But I do like it better, there are people here who speak Russian like me, and I find it less frustrating as I sometimes get words confused". For a while we sat, working on the case together with little conversation between the two of us. "Wait" she said, pointing to one of the papers in the file. A woman had died last month, leaving her four children in her ex-husbands care. Since then each of the children began slowly getting sick and dying, going in order from oldest the youngest. The second one had just died, the third had just gotten sick. All of the family members had traces of arsenic in their systems at there time of death, and the husband had been tested to find he also had some. He had survived though. Elena picked up the hospital report of the first and second child's condition, quickly looking it over. "They found the arsenic to have been ingested correct?". I nodded. "In that case the child should get better after being in the hospital for a few days. In the report it said it would take three days to tell if the child would recover, but look". She held the second child's file out to me, and I quickly tried to find what she was getting at. "Look at who visited a just before the damage the arsenic made went up". I scanned down to any visitors, finding the only one before the day if the child's death was the father. "What if the father poisoned himself to throw off suspicion? Poisoned his own children?".<br>"But why would he do that?" I asked. Elena pulled the fathers hospital report from the file, scanning through. "'Marcus Dean Nelson was in therapy at a the age of nine due to the death of his mother, whom he claimed communicated with him long after her death'". Elena looked up at me, her face dark. "He thinks his wife is communicating to him. What if he thinks she's lonely, misses her children?".  
>Suddenly a child's life was at stake, for after three days he would be poisoned again, just like the others. "How long has it been since the third child has been admitted?" I asked, trying to find the file myself. I hadn't noticed that Elena still had the file in her hand. "Two days ago, tomorrow will be the third day".<p> 


	8. Chapter 8: Left Behind

Ken Greene

An hour later the older living child was safe, Anna Wills keeping watch outside the child's hospital room. Next we needed to get the youngest child away from her father. We pulled up in front of Marcus's house, and I could see two lights on in the house. One gave off a pinkish glow from the second floor, obviously the room of the four year old daughter. The other was on the first floor, dimly lit by the light of a TV. "Careful" Elena whispered "we do not know what mental state he could be in. He could kill the kid and then himself, after all, he probably will kill himself after all of his children are gone".  
>I nodded "We should probably sneak in and get the kid out of the way first" it only took me a second to scan through the lightening sky to find a nearby fire escape, which could be used to drop down onto a balcony outside the child's room. We both got out, and I went into a neighboring ally and searching for a way up. There was the faint noise of weight shifting, and I turned around to see Elena already climbing from the top of a trashcan to the fire escape. When she was about half way onto the fire escape she signaled me to follow. I mimicked her, and and as I got to the top I momentarily lost her. I spotted that she had already gotten to the top of the fire escape, and was waiting for me so we could drop down onto the small balcony. As I got to the top she swung herself over the side of the fire escape as if she were on monkey-bars, swinging her legs back and forth to ensure a safe landing. She stealthily dropped down on the small area of the balcony. Barely stopping to absorb the shock, she stepped to the side so I could drop down next to her. I did so carefully, but for a moment I thought I would hit the railing and fall two floors down. I barely made it, landing inches from the curtain-covered glass doors. As soon as I landed Elena pulled a bobby-pin out of her hair, barely taking a second to pick the already-unlocked door. "Better safe than sorry. If the door was locked and we tried to open it we could have startled her" she whispered quietly. She very slowly opened the door, peeking in first. I didn't see what she saw, but she had already bolted in the room. I followed, seeing she was crouched by the child's bed. She scooped the four year old in one arm, whispering to me "She has already been poisoned, we need to get her out. Tie her sheets together, we can make a rope and you can get her down. Get her back to the car and lock her in, she should be okay for a little while. I will wait thirty seconds after I hear you get down her down. Then I will head downstairs and block him from the back while you come in from the front". I nodded and she handed the limp child to me. Just to be sure, I placed my hand below her neck, feeling a faint heartbeat. She quickly tied the girls sheets into a braided sort of rope, walking back out to the balcony and tying one end to the railing. She took the kid again as I swung myself over the edge, and I held the girl in one arm as I slid down the rope using my other hand. As I got to the bottom I waved up to Elena, who upholstered her gun and waved back to show my thirty seconds was starting. I cradled the girl close to me as I half-ran out to the car, hoping she wouldn't die as I laid her gently in the front seat.<p>

Elena Alexandrov

I waited thirty seconds after Ken waved for me to start counting, and quickly upholstered my gun as I waited. After about twenty five seconds I went out in the hall, grateful for the carpet to break my footfalls. I found the stairs, keeping my gun in front of me was I ascended down to the TV lit living room. Ken's thirty second were up. I waited a few second longer before I came out of the shadows, and yelled to make my presence known "SFPD! Freeze!". I heard Ken burst in, apparently entering somewhere other than the living room. Marcus didn't even flinch. For a second I thought maybe he had given a fatal dose of arsenic to himself and his child, but then he moved, very slowly. "That is it, do not make any sudden movements. No one needs to get hurt here" I said gently. I heard Ken's soft footsteps come behind me, padding on the soft carpet. "That is it" I repeated gently once more. But Marcus didn't stop, but as quick as a flash pulled out a small switchblade. I didn't have a clear shot, most of his body was hidden behind the high-backed chair. "Put the knife down Marcus" I said calmly.  
>"You don't understand! Sarah misses her children! She just wants Mary, Carson, Matthew and Ashley back!" he said quickly.<br>"I understand that you still love your ex-wife, you want her to be with her kids" I said. I knew if I didn't have a clear shot, there was no way Ken, who was somewhat behind me, had one. "You just think this is another _final_ custody exchange" I  
>continued. I think I knew it was coming before it happened. Something in Marcus's body language, or possibly because I knew the only reason he hadn't committed suicide was because he was waiting to take his last child with him. Just before it happened I heard a faint "I'm sorry, Ashley" escape from his lips. He threw his knife, and at the same time I heard Ken shoot behind me. It was if I watched the world in slow motion as the knife was spinning and coming closer to me, but I was frozen in place by some unknown force. The blade embedded itself into the soft flesh at the base of my neck, and I felt hot blood rush to the surface of my skin before I fell back. I heard Ken call a name, not my name I don't think, in pure shock. "<em>Annie!<em>" I think he yelled. He heard him correct himself and say my name once, felt him instinctively apply pressure to the wound in my neck as my vision blackened. He said something else to me, but I couldn't hear it. All I felt was the incredible sharp pain above my collar bone before I blacked out.


	9. Chapter 9: The Mistake

Elena Alexandrov

"You have no idea how lucky you are" scolded the nurse once again. I only scowled at her. Ken had apparently called an ambulance, and they had rushed both me and the little girl to the hospital. I was indeed lucky, the knife had only grazed my neck and split open the skin, grazing a nerve. It didn't even touch my windpipe or anything, I only blacked out because I lost a lot of blood very quickly and because of the nerve. They said I should be alright, I didn't lose a detrimental amount of blood and there was no nerve damage. The nurse put the finishing touches on my stitches, putting a large and gauzy bandage on top. "Alright, you're done. Just no driving until the anesthetic wears off". I thanked her and left, seeing Ken was just inside the waiting room. I smiled at him as he stood up to greet me. "Thank you" I said, slightly embarrassed my first case with my new partner I managed to get stabbed and passed out.  
>"No problem" she said, obviously knowing I was embarrassed about it.<br>"The girl?" I asked, hoping she was alright.  
>"She's with her brother, and they're both expected to make full recoveries" he answered.<br>"And Marcus?".  
>"Dead" he answered. I nodded, neither happy nor saddened by this. After a long awkward moment Ken finally asked "Need a ride home?".<br>I nodded "yes, thank you". I followed him out of the hospital, out to where he had parked and got in the passenger side. It was a long and rather awkward ride to my apartment building, as silence hung over us like a thick sheet. The whole time I was trying to build up the nerve to ask about Annie. I wondered why he had called me that. Did I look like her? Was she a former partner, and he had instinctively called me that? I was so consumed by this that I almost allowed him to pass where I lived, telling him to stop in the nick of time. I froze for a moment, knowing I needed to ask about Annie now. "Detective Greene?". I said timidly.  
>"You don't have to call me that. You can just call me Ken".<br>I paused for a moment, temporarily losing my nerve. "Then Ken, I have a question for you. Earlier you called me Annie by accident, may I ask who that is?". He froze for a second, obviously thinking I hadn't heard him call me that earlier. There was a moment where he seemed conflicted on how to answer, and I added quickly "I am sorry, I do not mean to pry".  
>There was another pause, then he finally said "I'll pick you up in the morning, since you're car's still at the station". I took this as a dismissal and nodded, thanked him once more and climbed out of the car. As I walked into my building and up the stairs, there was one thing of which I was certain. Annie, whoever she was, was gone.<p>

Ken Greene

I had frozen when Elena asked about Annie. I had hoped she hadn't heard me, or even believed she heard me wrong. I don't know what made me call her that. It just seemed for a second, as she was injured and lying in front of me, that she was Annie. That Annie was back again, and I had a chance to save her. But she was gone in an instant, and I quickly fixed my mistake of calling her Annie. But she had remembered, and I know it's only a matter of time before she finds out the truth. 

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><p><strong>So, I want to know who you like better, just out of curiosity (Yes, it's poll time) Annie or Elena? Actually I just want to hear your thoughts on them in general. On to review replies: <strong>

**maltararox21: **  
><strong>Thanks, I actually slightly regretted killing Annie at first, since she did grow on me the more I wrote for her. But I already have everything for this story planned out (for once) and didn't want to stray from it. Also I have to love Ken (since he's a marine) and since I'm Amy&amp;Kai, I wanted someone for him. Thanks for the review!<strong>

**jamzie13:**  
><strong>Thanks, glad you like it :) thanks for reviewing. <strong>

**mozzi-girl:**  
><strong>Whhhaaaa…you're going to see The Woman in Black WITH school? Me=jealous. The closest thing to watching a 'scary' movie with school was watching <em>I am Legend<em> in my English class, which my teacher turned off because she got scared :P. Thanks for the review!**


	10. Chapter 10: Unforgiven

Ken Greene

I had off the next morning since Elena and I were up late working on the case, and I hadn't made any plans until I checked my phone next morning. As I checked my messages I was greeted by a voice I had never heard before, and was surprised to hear. It was a man's voice, and he said he was Annie's father. That he wanted to talk to me. I remembered what Annie had said, how she wished her father to see her off as she died. She never got that. I could feel my hands ball into fists as the message went on, of him saying how sorry he was for not being there. I would meet him, yes, but only to tell him off. So he knew how much his daughter needed him, so he knew how he hurt her.

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><p>It was ten minutes later that I pulled up to the deserted cemetery that I knew Annie was buried in. I watched as a well-dressed man walked among the headstones, pausing on one in particular. There had been no funeral for Annie, her father had only arranged for a spot to lay his daughter to rest. I had not seen where Annie lay yet, I figured it wouldn't do anything. It wouldn't bring her back. Slowly I got out, preparing myself for the worst. The man looked up at me expectantly, watching me through his heavily-hooded hazel eyes. Annie's eyes. I walked towards him, looking down at the beautifully carved headstone at his feet. It was small, but detailed. It was a short rectangular block of marble depicting a weeping angel lying on her stomach, her face hidden in her folded arms. One of the angels hands extended down to the name, which was carved in curvy letters as if spelled out in a vines weaving tendrils. <em>'Anissa Laura Bloom. 1977-2012'<em>. I looked down to the words that lay beneath the name and date, reading the quote that made me remember the last time I saw her before she died. _'When you see only one set of footprints, it was then, that I carried you'._  
>"I was told what you did for Anissa" he eventually said. "I thank you, she was always someone who hated being indoors".<br>I tried to keep my voice clear of any anger as I said "Maybe that's why she didn't want to be a lawyer". I looked up, seeing this statement had given the desired affect. Annie's father's face briefly broke, but only for a moment before it returned into the sharp, business-like manner it was before.  
>"Anissa and I had our disagreements, but make no mistake. I loved my daughter".<br>"Loved? _loved_? Did you love her enough to come to her before she died? Did you love her enough to at least _call?_ No! You know what she said to me 'Maybe I'll see my father before I die! Maybe he'll come see me'! She waited for you, she waited a long time! She-".  
>"Mr. Greene. I would appreciate it if-"<br>"And you didn't even show her you care! She died thinking you didn't love her! You know who was with her when she died? Me! I was there for her, and I didn't even know her for a week, and you, her own father, couldn't even be bothered to see her!" I roared.  
>"You don't understand, Anissa-".<br>But I couldn't be stopped now. "Shut up! Shut the hell up! Annie needed you! And you weren't there!". Annie's father fell silent, clearly unable to come up with a retort. With that, I turned on heel, stomping out of the graveyard and into my car. I checked my watch briefly before I sped off, seeing that it was almost time to pick Elena up for work. I pulled outside her apartment complex, seeing that she was sitting on the steps, waiting. When she saw me she came over and slid into the passenger side, watching me through narrowed eyes.  
>"What has gotten you so angry?" she asked.<br>"Nothing" I spat at her, but still pressed down on the gas with particular venom.  
>"Yes, because all calm people try to strangle their steering wheel" Elena said. I hadn't noticed that I was gripping the wheel that tightly, my knuckles were bent at harsh angles. "Detec-Ken. I am you're partner, if something is bothering you, you can tell me. It's not as if we are strangers" she said. "If jumping down a fire escapes, rescuing poisoned girls, being there when the other is stabbed and giving each other rides home afterwards does not make us friends I do not know what will". As we pulled into the stations parking lot I turned to Elena, knowing she was right. Everyone knows how important it is to trust your partner, and if I didn't start now when would I?<br>"It's a long story" I said, hoping she would decide she didn't need to know after all.  
>She glanced at the clock on the radio. "We have five minutes until we need to be at work" she said. "But, I will tell you what. How about we go down to the cafe by my apartment, we have time then".<p> 


	11. Chapter 11: I'll Carry Your Heart

**Just as a side note, anytime I write anything that's in Russian the rough translation can be found at the bottom.  
><strong>

Elena Alexandrov

Ken and I walked into the station that morning, and were immediately swept up by Captain Yeong. "Alexandrov, Greene, my office" she said quickly. Ken and I exchanged equally confused looks. We followed her into her office, close on her heels. "Sit" she snapped, sitting at her desk. We obeyed. She grabbed the file Ken and I had been Looking at the night before, offering it to Ken. "Captain, I do not understand" I said "We found out who killed those two children. That means the case is closed, yes?".  
>She shook her head "Normally, yes. But last night a man was killed, as was his younger sister. Both were given extreme amounts of arsenic, and both died from arsenic poisoning before they were even found".<br>Ken opened the file again and I peeked over his shoulder. There was a boy of about twenty sprawled across the floor, a trickle of blood pouring from his mouth. His dark haired sister of about eighteen was lying next to him.  
>"Both were found early this morning by a friend of the man. There was no clear evidence of a struggle" she said. "They were a brother and sister living together after the death of their single mother, no father figure came forward, so the older brother took the sister in. They were both killed in their home" she said.<br>"But Marcus is dead. How can this be?" I asked.  
>Captain Yeong sighed "That isn't all. Matthew Nelson, the third victim and his four year old sister, Ashley, went missing this morning. Twelve year old boy, no sign of a struggle".<br>"But how can that be?" Ken asked "He's recovering from arsenic poisoning, he couldn't just walk out".  
>"But that's what appears to be what happened. He's had no visitors, he's in a secure ward, I don't think there's any other way".<br>There was a long pause in which no one spoke, and I finally said "Then we should go check out the crime scene. We might find something". Captain Yeong nodded as a dismissal, and Ken and I walked out.

Ken Greene

Fifteen minutes later Elena and I were standing in the living room of the murder victims. Elena bent down to examine the girl, who was lying stretched out as if in her last moments she was trying to go for help.  
>"What are their names?" she asked softly, as if asking the victims themselves.<br>"Rosie and Randal Parks" I answered. I was surprised by the softness of her tone. I wondered this was her first crime scene, until I noticed her necklace as she leaned over the body. It was a small gold star of David. There was a similar one around the girls neck, and I wondered if she felt a connection to the girl because she saw herself in her. Over the next few hours we searched for any connection between the murders, any clues. Kai came in and collected the bodies later, leaving only a white outline on the dark carpet. Elena seemed more reserved than earlier, but I noticed she once again tucked her small star of David inside her shirt. After we were done and got all we could from the place, which was nothing until we got the DNA and fingerprint results back, Elena reminded me of what she said earlier. We swung by the place, and I saw it was a small and rather shabby coffee house. I followed behind her, and the heavyset waitress smiled warmly at Elena as she entered, greeting her with a "Dobry den".  
>What Elena said next was in a different voice. Her words seemed to roll of her tongue easier, coming much more naturally "Privet Katrina. Dobry den, Kak vashi dela?".<br>The woman smiled "harosho, a kak ty?".  
>Elena smiled back "neplokho". I hoped the woman didn't say anything to me, as I was totally lost in the conversation. "eto vash partner?". She asked, looking at me.<br>"da, eto Ken. On ne govorit russkiĭ ili ukrainskiĭ, khotya. On ne smozhet ponyatʹ vas." Elena said. The woman nodded and walked behind a door that obviously led to the kitchen. I followed Elena to the back of the coffee house, and when she sat in a booth I sat across from her.  
>"What did you say to her?" I asked, knowing she used my name.<br>"She asked if you were my partner, and I told her yes but you didn't speak Russian or Ukrainian" Elena said.  
>"You know her well?" I asked.<br>"Katrina and I grew up together, she is the reason I chose to come to San Francisco. There were very few children in our village. Very few people actually. It's a small place in eastern Ukraine, just for people of the Orthodox Jewish faith. Most of the people living there are from Russia, so my Russian is better than my Ukrainian" she explained. She leaned in closer to me, saying "But enough about me, I want to know about Annie". So I told her, everything. How Annie only found out she was sick after it was too late. How I had fought with her father that very morning. How I had loved her. There was a moment in which Elena studied me as if I were a mildly entertaining television show. Finally she said "Ken, you  
>say you loved this woman?". I nodded. "May I asked what happened?".<br>I wasn't sure what she meant "What do you mean?".  
>"You said you <em>loved<em> her, not that you_ love_ her". Elena pointed out.  
>"Well, she's gone" I said simply.<br>Elena sighed "Ken, let me show you something". She pulled up the sleeve of her shirt, showing me something on her wrist. A block of strange symbols ran vertically across her wrist in jet black ink. _'Я несу твое сердце мне'_. "It says _'I carry your heart me me'_" she said "My sister, Sofia, has the other half on her wrist. Her's reads _'I carry it in my heart'_". She pulled her sleeve back down, hiding the small tattoo. "Sofia is the one who picked it out. She wanted to get matching ones when she turned eighteen and was visiting me in Arizona a few years back. It took forever to find someone who would write it in Russian, but do you know why I did it?" Elena asked me. I shrugged. "Because she is my baby sister, and I love her more than anyone else on the planet". She paused for a moment "Sofia has been dead for three years. She was killed in a car accident, but that does not mean she is gone. I believe she is waiting for me, and until I see her again I will carry her heart with me". She looked at me seriously "And you can carry Annie's heart with you also, Jewish or not". She slowly pointed to her chest "You can carry it in your _heart_".

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><p><strong>Sorry if this seemed a little cheesy :P So you don't have to look it up with a translator, here's roughly what the conversation at the coffee house went: <strong>  
><strong>"Good day". <strong>  
><strong>"Hey Katrina, how are you?". <strong>  
><strong>"Fine, and you?". <strong>  
><strong>"Not bad". <strong>  
><strong>"Is this your partner?". <strong>  
><strong>"Yes, this is Ken. He doesn't speak Russian or Ukrainian though. He might not be able to understand you".<strong>

***Katrina nods***


	12. Chapter 12: Candle Wax

Amy Chen

I think Elena has grown to love it here in San Francisco. She's a great friend, she is so much like me. She's, as she would call us, a 'cultural mutt'. It's nice to know I won't be the only one feeling awkward at the station Christmas party, and fun exchanging stories of how people were curious at how different we were when we entered school. Of course this didn't hit her until she went to college, but it's still a fun time. She's made friends with Natara also, as she seems very drawn to the aspect of psychology. They also have another thing in common, and that is the love for their sisters. Natara talks to her about Neha, Elena about Sofia. The two seem very much alike, and I would love to meet Sofia. She seems like she would be a lot of fun! She showed Natara and I the matching tattoo's her and her sister got, and I can't believe she would do that. I just can't see her getting a tattoo. I figured her and her sister must be very close. Neither Natara nor I is as close to Elena as Ken though, and the two had practically become attached at the hip. I can't help but feel a small twinge of jealously at this, Ken and I used to be close. I suppose theirs something about Elena that makes them so close.

Ken Greene

I ticked Elena off for the first time, and I honestly hope it's the last. After the disappearances of Matthew and Ashley Nelson, of course we headed over to hospital to check out anything that might be left behind. As we walked around the room for the umpteenth time, I had stated that this was a waste of time.  
>"There has to be something here!" she exclaimed.<br>"I don't think so, look at how everything that they had here was taken with. That means they probably just walked out of here. They probably just took their things with them" I said.  
>"That may be true, but they had to leave something behind!" she said. I could tell at this point she just didn't want to be wrong, for her voice was rising slightly.<br>"I don't think we're going to find anything" I simply stated. I could see she was getting frustrated and walked towards me to get in my face, but her eyes locked on something behind me.  
>"Ken, what do you see?" she said, her eyes still locked on something behind me.<br>"An angry Ukrainian chic?" I guessed.  
>She scowled and said "Look at the windowsill". She walked past me, looking down at the small marking on the side of the window. "Candle wax" she said quietly.<br>"So?" I said "some former patient wanted to have some candles in their room".  
>She shook her head "This is a children's ward, and lighting candles in here is against the rules. Surely they were being closely watched. Why would they risk lighting a candle in here unless it was important?".<br>She looked at me seriously "Candles are associated with summoning the dead. What if the boy takes after his father? What if he's trying to finish his fathers job?".  
>This suddenly became very serious, much more so than before. "Then that means he's going to kill Ashley".<br>"Not just Ashley" she said. "Children have a much larger sense of empathy than adults. If there are a few family friends who he thinks need reunited with their parents, wouldn't he want to _'help_' them?".

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><p><strong>Just saying, this might end sooner and differently than expected. It's just that I'm not getting a lot of reviews, and I have other stories I want to move onto. I <em>will<em>** **be finishing this (I _never_ abandon a story****), but it will be quicker than expected.**


	13. Chapter 13: The Ashes

Ken Greene

I met Elena the next morning, finding she had rather grim news. "There is another victim" she said "A teenage boy". I nodded grimly and we headed out to the victims home, or what was left of it. It was a smoldering wreckage, the main structure crumbling.  
>"We got the call this morning" Elena said. "Single father, left his son Carter, age 15, this morning. Kai collected the body this morning, the only connection is that he had arsenic in his system. Cause of death is unknown, Kai is still trying to find out if it's from arsenic poisoning or smoke inhalation". I nodded, stepping past the yellow police tape and turning to see Elena was doing the same. Among the wreckage there didn't appear to be anything useful, but we walked the perimeter anyways. I knew it wouldn't be safe to go inside, but Elena didn't seem to. I watched as she walked timidly in the doorway.<br>"Elena! What are you doing?". I asked loudly, rushing to the doorway.  
>"I am looking for evidence. I will not letting another child die".<br>"It's not safe!".  
>She turned to me. "Ken, our jobs are not safe. Are you coming or not?". I shrugged and followed, walking past the crumbling walls until we reached the living room, where apparently the fire had started. There was a small patch of tape on the blackened carpet where the body was found. Elena walked around the room, trying to find anything that was astray. I walked to the door, which was barely intact. I noticed that it was unlocked, and that this was most likely how the boys killer got in. "El?" I said, not even realizing I was using this shortened version of her name.<br>She peered around the corner at me "What is this, some sort of nickname?".  
>I smiled "Why, does it bug you?".<br>She returned it "No, not in the slightest. What did you find?".  
>I pointed "The doors unlocked, that's probably how the kid got in".<br>"Do you think a child was really capable of this?" she asked "of murder?".  
>I nodded "If someone's helping him".<br>After walking around and finding little, we both walked outside again and headed back to the station. As soon as we got back Captain Yeong once again approached us, looking urgent.  
>"Someone reported seeing Ashley and Matthew about a mile from here, I just got off the phone. They were going to follow them, but they were with a teenager. And he had a gun".<p> 


	14. Chapter 14: Shoot

Elena Alexandrov

Ken and I drove out to where we were told Ashley and Matthew had been spotted, a small abandoned warehouse.  
>"Seriously?" Ken remarked "How many abandoned warehouses can San Francisco have?". We got out, and both drawing our guns just in case. I went around the front, Ken around the back as a precaution. After the predetermined twenty seconds, I pushed open the door with my shoulder. Ken had done the same, entering across the large room. It was grimy and dusty, and Ashley was hugging a support beam with her hands tied together in the center of the room. Her mouth was covered with duct tape, and tears were cutting through the layer of grime on her face. I ran forward, untying her hands and removing the tape. The little girl embraced me, holding onto me as she cried. I lifted her, looking across the room to see the boy was peering around another larger support beam. Seeing I was a friend, he ran to me, he had clearly been crying.<br>"He made us do it! It wasn't us, he made me!" he cried.  
>I turned to Ken "Look around, I am taking them and locking them in the car".<br>"Be careful" Ken warned, keeping his gun steady as he crossed the room to another door.  
>I scowled, already half-out the door. "YOU be careful". I half-ran, one hand holding the girl, the other practically dragging the boy. I briefly let go of the boy, unlocking the car and putting the girl in. "Stay down, wait here and do not get out of the car" I said. The girl nodded, and I helped the boy up and onto the seat with his sister. "It is going to be alright". That's when a sharp noise caught my attention, echoing in the silence of the evening. A gunshot. I slammed the car door shut, drawing my gun once more. I badly wanted to yell to him, to tell him I was coming. But I couldn't, there was no way I could give away my location.<p>

Ken Greene

I watched Elena go, then returned my attention to the task at hand. I put my hand on the knob of the door, ready to face whatever was behind it. I opened it, rushing in and and scanning the room. It looked empty, or so I thought. I knew it was coming before it came, and I dodged a knife thrown at my head in the nick if time. It fell to the floor with a crash, and I turned around to see a boy of maybe seventeen standing behind me, his gun level at my chest. I didn't even have time to react until he fired twice, and I felt a burning pain in my chest. That's when everything went suffocatingly dark.


	15. Chapter 15: Who I Love

Elena Alexandrov

I burst into the warehouse and through open door that Ken had obviously just entered. I entered to see a teenager standing over the still form of Ken, until the boy turned at the sound of my footsteps. I wanted badly to run to my fallen partner, but knew I couldn't do so without practically killing myself. The teenager turned to me, leveling his gun at my head.  
>"You are Detective Alexandrov" he said, half question, half statement.<br>"That is irrelevant, but what is not is the fact that you just shot my partner". I said, trying not to look at Ken, who was trying to reach for his gun, which had slid across the floor a few yards away.  
>The boy took a step forward to me, a clear attempt at intimidation. I didn't budge, keeping my feet firm on the ground.<br>"They were my friends" he said "Mary, Randal and Carter" he said calmly "Then he killed her! He killed Mary!" he screamed. I knew Mary was one of the Nelson children, the oldest one I thought.  
>"So you killed the rest" I said, trying to distract him while Ken was stretching for his gun, pulling himself across the floor for it. "So you could be together again. You thought Mary's father was right".<br>He looked at me seriously "What else did I have to hope for? My best friend was dead! The only reason we met was because we all had one thing in common, we all had a parent that was dead. And now we'll be a family again! I know it! I've talked to them! Ask Matthew, he'll tell you, he talks to them!". He leered at me, looking me dead in the eye "But don't worry, you'll be re-united with your dear parents too, and Sofia". He must have seen the shocked look of my face, for then he said "That's right! I know! I did my research when I found out who was working on the case. I know all about what happened to Sofia, your mother and father, even you! I know you-" but he was cut off when Ken shot him in the back if his leg, he had finally reached his gun. The boy froze for a second, then he fell back. I jumped on him, grabbing his gun and threw it across the floor. As I let go of him he curled up, clutching his injured leg and whimpering. I grabbed my radio, calling for back-up as I finally ran to my fallen partner. "Ken!" I cried, turning him over onto his back. He had suddenly gone very still, lying in a pool of his own blood. "Ken, you better not die one me!" I screamed at him, not even sure why I was talking so loud.

Ken Greene

I felt Elena's warm hand across my chest, applying pressure and holding me to life. "Ken, you better not die on me!" she cried. But I knew that was a very real possibility. On the bright side, maybe Elena was right. That would mean I would see my brother again. That I would see Annie again…  
>"Ken Greene, I swear to God if you die on me, I am going to kill you!" Elena's voice called from far away. Reality came back with surprising clarity, Elena's face sharp in the semi-darkness. "That is it" she called "Keep your eyes open, help is coming". But there was only one thing I wanted to do. To be sure that she was really here. I reached one shaky hand to her face, which had a single seemingly stressful tear falling down it, and traced my finger across her jaw line. "Just stay with me" she whispered "Stay here". I wasn't aware that my hand had dropped. Nor that the only thing I was fixated on was her eyes, wet and soft. A deep royal blue. That was the last thing I thought of as I slipped away, leaving two things forever imprinted in my mind. The royal blue if her eyes, and the sharp sound of Elena screaming my name "Ken!".<p>

Elena Alexandrov

"Ken!" I called, trying to awaken him. His eyes had fluttered shut, his heartbeat below my hands growing weak. "Ken…please don't be dead…Ken…" I said weakly. I wasn't aware that I was crying, or that the sound of sirens was nearing. It was only with mental numbness that I allowed the paramedics to take Ken and the boy away. Only with dull thoughts that I rode in the ambulance with him, holding his hand and begging him to stay with me. I couldn't lose him, I couldn't lose anyone else, not again. I held his barely warm hand in between my own, only realizing one thing. What I was feeling, it only meant one thing. That I loved Ken Greene.

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><p><strong>Review Replies:<strong>

_**mozzi-girl:**_  
><strong>Thanks, I really want to finish this story though, simply for personal reasons. I hate leaving people on cliffhangers as much as people hate being on cliffhangers, I like working to a deadline. Thanks for the review!<strong>

_**CauseOfDeathIsGreat:**_  
><strong>Thats so cool! I myself don't speak Russian, but let's just say where I live I'm one of the very few that don't…I just used google translate for this, the only language I speak other than English is ASL (American standard sign language), but not fluently. Thanks for the review!<strong> 


	16. Chapter 16: Poison

Natara Williams

We got the call only a few minutes after it happened, that Ken had been shot. Amy and I immediately headed to the hospital, after gaining permission form Captain Yeong, finding Elena already in the waiting room. Her hands were covered with blood, and she looked like she had been crying a little. She looked up at us, her eyes large and broken-looking.  
>"It'll be alright" Amy said, sitting down next to her and patting her shoulder "Ken's a tough guy, he'll pull through". Elena didn't respond, she only looked down at her shoes and ignored us.<br>"Why don't you call Sofia, or even your parents?" I suggested, knowing from how she talked they were ridiculously close and thinking they might be a source of great comfort to her.  
>"I can't" she said simply. No one responded to this, unsure weather it was safe to ask why. "Sofia is dead. As are my mother and father".<br>"I'm sorry" I said quickly "It's just, they way you talk about them…".  
>But Elena cut me off "And I should be too. It is my fault".<br>"How can you say that?" asked Amy quickly "However they died, it wasn't your fault".  
>She scowled, looking like she was going to yell at Amy. "Oh yeah? Tell me it is not my fault when I was driving, and we hit some drunk in a tractor trailer head on. Tell me it was not my fault when my parents were killed on impact, but I watched Sofia die right in front of me while the ambulances came. Tell me it was not my fault, when all I got from the accident was this!". She grabbed her long braided hair and lifted, revealing a long and jagged scar across the back of her neck. It spread past her collar line, clearly a burn that had stretched down her back. "If I had told Ken to wait for me to look around, this would not have happened! He would be fine, and maybe…" she stopped for a moment "Maybe I would be dead. Just like I should have died three years ago. Just like I <em>deserved<em> to die three years ago". She looked near tears now, but all Amy could do was keep patting her shoulder as Elena mumbled "It should have been me…Ken, Sofia, they did not deserve it…it should have been _me_".  
>"You weren't there" Amy said.<br>"I should have been" Elena said "If I hadn't taken the kids away, I could have-".  
>"No" I said "You did what you had to do. Mal is getting the kids out of the car now. He's going to come back with them, and they're going to thank you. Then, later, they're going to be able to thank Ken too". I sat down on the other side of her, imitating Amy. "It's going to be okay" I said "It all works out in the end". But I noticed she was doing a clearly nervous gesture. She had rolled up the sleeve of her right arm, rubbing the tattoo as if it would rub off. It was clear she always did this when she was nervous, for there was already a small sore there.<p>

Mal Fallon

I ran by and got the kids out, thinking it would be hard to open the door. Turns out Elena had ran to Ken without locking it, and it took a while to encourage the kids that I wasn't trying to hurt them. After coaxing them out of the car, I put the two of them in the back seat together. I got about half-way to the hospital when things went horribly wrong. I heard a thump, then the girl was calling her brothers name. "Matt! Matthew!" she called. I pulled over and turned around, the boy was unconscious.  
>"What happened?" I asked, starting to get out of the car to examine the boy.<br>"I don't know! he just started-" then she began to retch and cough, and I grabbed her just in time so she threw up in the street. Vomit was pouring from her nose and mouth, and when she stopped she seemed to be in a daze.  
>"Are you okay?" I asked her "that boy earlier, did her poison you?". I looked down at her arms, where small sores were beginning to form.<br>"Poison?" she said quietly "I don't know".  
>"Did he give you any funny candy? Put anything in your water?".<br>She shook her head "No, he didn't do any of that".  
>"Did he do anything strange, anything that you didn't know what he was doing?" I asked, dreading the answer.<br>She nodded "He made a big deal about fixing the air conditioning. Said he needed to add something to it". Then it all made sense. Arsenic gas. And if it was in the air, that meant Ken and Elena were exposed too.

Amy Chen

I watched as Elena, seemingly in a daze, stated that she was going to ask the secretary if she could see Ken. She got up, but something was wrong. She swayed a little as she walked, almost losing her balance. Natara reacted before I did. "Elena!" she yelled, just as Elena bent over and began to retch. Natara ran to her, and I grabbed a trash can. I held it out to Elena and she vomited into it, coughing violently.  
>"Careful!" I said, grabbing Elena just in time. She fell into my arms, sweating and shaking. She spasmed for a moment, then went very still.<br>"Help!" yelled Natara, but a few doctors were already on their way "Somebody help us, please!". A few doctors grabbed Elena's body, practically throwing her onto the stretcher.  
>"What happened?" yelled one of them, already starting to wheel Elena away. Natara and I followed him as he wheeled her away, only one word etched in both of our minds.<br>"Poison" Natara hissed "She was poisoned". We were forced to stop about half-way down the hallway, being told we weren't allowed to go any further.  
>"Natara" I said, realizing what this meant "That means the boy and Ken, they have it too".<p> 


	17. Chapter 17: Your Star

Mal Fallon

I grabbed the boy, his head lolling to the side as I carried him inside. The girl collapsed about half-way in the door, and I ended up dragging her. "They've been…" I started, but paramedics were already waiting for us. They snapped both the kids away before I even finish my sentence.  
>"We know" said Natara, looking worried "Elena, Ken and the other boy were poisoned too". Amy looked near tears, and Natara didn't exactly happy either. I went to Natara, putting my arms around her.<br>"They don't know if they're going to make it, they had such high amounts in their systems. Ken's already been shot, Elena's slipping into a coma…" he voice broke then, and I pulled her closer. Amy only stared at us, giving us an 'I knew it!' kind of expression. She didn't smile though, and only sat down with her head in her hands. We stayed like that a long time, Natara in my arms, Amy still as a statue. Kai came eventually, acting tame for once in his life. He held Amy in his arms, and at first she turned away from him. An hour later though she gave up, and ended up weeping into Kai's arms. Two hours passed, Natara and I sat down. Three hours passed, a doctor came out. We all stood up, wanting news. "The three kids and Mr. Greene are going to be okay" he said. We all froze. Part of me wanted to cheer, the other was dreading Elena's fate. "Ms. Alexandrov however, is having some complications. She proved very weak resistance to fighting off the poison, and it's caused a lot of damage to her kidneys and lungs. It entered her bloodstream at an unusually quick rate, and at this point her chances aren't good. She's showing signs of slipping into a coma". I heard Amy squeak behind me, heard her tears increase. Natara put her arms around me and buried her face in my chest, and I wrapped my arms around her again.  
>"Can we see them?" I asked.<br>The doctor shook his head. "Mr. Greene just got out of surgery, and we're still trying to get Ms. Alexandrov stable. Go home, it's late. Come back in the morning, Mr. Greene should be awake by then we should be able to determine Ms. Alexandrov's chances of recovery". I nodded, partly glad that Ken was okay. Partly furious that some kid was taking Elena away. That just when she seemed to become part of us, she would be gone.

Ken Greene

Only a few things registered in my mind before I opened my eyes. The cold air, smell of disinfectant, something small and cold in my hand and a sharp pain just to the right of my collar bone. I opened my eyes, seeing nothing but a dark room around me. Slowly I turned the object in my hand over, examining it. It took a moment to get my eyes to focus on the small metal object, and I almost dropped it when I realized what it was. It was Elena's small, gold star of David. Somehow I knew she had not put it there, and that only meant one thing. Elena was hurt, and not just hurt. It meant she was dying. 


	18. Chapter 18: Be There

Ken Greene

My mind jumped to horrible conclusions. Elena, dead or dying in some remote part of the hospital. Lying down in pain, while they took tests in a room where no one could hear her scream. Or maybe with tubes up her nose, forcing air into her lungs and blood through her heart. I knew these things were improbable, that there was a chance that Elena had put the star into my hand to let me know she was there. But there was something that told me she was all but fine, that something was wrong.  
>'You saw her' I told myself 'You saw her. You heard her call your name earlier. You saw her eyes…'<br>Her eyes. I tried to remember their expression just before I passed out. Were they round and fearful, was an assailant coming? Or was it fear for me or those two children? Either way, I know I saw her. What damage could be done in that little time? My mind didn't even get a chance to answer this question until I felt a icy sting up my arm, then the while world faded to black.

I was told later, how very lucky I was. I don't even know how many times I was told I had 'a punctured lung and a shattered scapula'. I didn't want to hear my shoulder would probably be screwed up for the rest of my life, or how hard it was to get the bullet out of my shoulder. What I wanted to hear was how Elena was doing, what happened to her and if she was okay. Apparently most of the damage was done to my shoulder, and less to my lungs, so I would probably be able to leave in a couple days with just my arm in a sling. For this reason they said I was allowed to see Elena, and that's one of the first things I did. A younger nurse lead me there, and I was shocked by what I saw. Elena was pale, her arms covered in large sores that were an extreme of what I had on my own and saw on the victims. There were a few tubes up her nose, forcing her to breath. I had never seen her so utterly still, her chest barely rose and fell.  
>"I don't understand" I said "We all breathed in the gas, me more than her. Why aren't we all like this?".<br>"We're not sure" she said, writing something on a clipboard as she talked "her body isn't trying to get rid of the poison correctly, her kidneys and her lungs are starting to shut down. It's gone too far, there will be some type of brain damage. And at this point we can't know how bad it is, or even what she'll be like if she wakes up" she looked at me seriously now. "But you can let her know you're here. So she knows she has something to come back to". She walked out then, and all I could do was walk closer to Elena. Every part of me wanted to leave, to go before I lost her like I lost Annie. But I didn't. I took the little star of David, which I had been holding the whole time, and gently placed it by her head. So maybe she would know when she woke up, that I was there.

Elena Alexandrov

Reality came back with vivid clarity, bringing with it a horrible pain in my side.  
>'How did I get here?' I thought.<br>Then it hit me like a train. The accident. My mother, my father. Sofia. No, they couldn't be dead. They couldn't. I wanted to scream for my baby sister, to hear her respond. To see that what I saw wasn't real…that Sofia hadn't died just before my eyes. Then I felt something little and warm curled in my palm, something that was almost spilling onto the bed beside me like liquid metal. I turned my head ever-so-slightly, feeling a jolt of pain as I did so. A deep ache right down to my bones, as if my joints themselves had been ripped apart. But this did not stop me, I kept slowly turning my head until I could see what was next to me. My little gold star of David, laying right by my head. My hand must have instinctually curled around it. But this wasn't mine…was it? It wasn't the one my mother had gotten for me for my twenty-first birthday, which for some reason I felt like I had lost. Then it hit me. Coming to San Francisco. Meeting my new partner. Being called 'El'. Telling my partner to be careful. Hearing gunshots…running to my partner. Holding my hands over the wound in my partners chest, begging him to stay with me…  
>"Ken!" I said out loud. I had meant to call out to my partner, but all that came out was a strangled sort of whisper. I knew someone was listening, for everything had suddenly gone silent.<p>

**To Oryt:**  
><strong>You know you're awesome, right? Thank you so much! You have no idea, that really means a lot to me. Now you get a smiley face :) Thanks so much for the review!<strong> 


	19. Chapter 19: What Doesn't Kill You

Ken Greene

It wasn't until hours later that I was told that Elena was okay, and it's wasn't until after that I learned she was _more_ than okay. Mal, who had returned to to the station, told me that Captain Yeong wanted me to talk with the boy we had shot. I had to make sure my partner was okay first, that was all that was on my mind at the moment. That's when I heard the screaming. Someone yelling something loud enough I couldn't even hear what it was, someone else yelling in rapid Russian.  
>"I told you no! Now sit down, your kidneys are failing for Gods sake!".<br>Then Elena's voice, horse and slightly quieter than before "And I told you, I'm fine! Leave me alone!".  
>Then the screaming began again, the nurse yelling loudly. Elena once again clearly unable to express her anger in English, yelling in Russian once again. "Molchi! YA v poryadke, prosto ostavʹte menya v pokoe!" the argument resumed, and I somewhat awkwardly walked in to see Elena on her feet, her face flushed with anger. "There you are!" she said "Could you please tell her that I am fine?".<br>"Miss, we're not even sure how you're awake right now, so if you could just-"But Elena cut across her. Her eyes locked on mine.  
>"And by the way Ken, glad to have you back".<br>I smiled "Good to have you back too".

Elena Alexandrov

I ignored the yammering nurse behind me, turning my attention to Ken.  
>"Did we get an ID on the boy who shot you?".<br>"Yeah, Mason Smith, age eighteen".  
>"And did you talk to him already?".<br>"No" he said.  
>"Then what are you waiting for!" I said, wanting an excuse to leave this room "come one, I am going with you". I stormed out, ignoring the protesting of the nurse behind me. I heard heavy footsteps behind me, and knew Ken must have followed.<br>"Maybe you shouldn't have done that" he said, glancing back at the room we just exited.  
>I scowled at him "since when do you worry about the rules? I am fine. Do I look sick? No." I said, ignoring the slight and sharp pain in my side "If we should be worried about anyone here it is you. Your arm is in a sling, what kind of damage was done?".<br>"As I've been told several times 'a shattered scapula and a punctured lung'. I got here in enough time, so not a lot of damage was done". I kept my face straight. I still felt guilty for not being there, but didn't let it show. I didn't need another person getting on my case and telling me it wasn't my fault. I smiled warmly at my partner, simply glad that he wasn't dead in some warehouse.  
>"What are you so happy about?" he asked me.<br>"Just glad to have you back" I said, squeezing his good arm and entering the next room. Mason was lying down, his leg in a cast. He scowled as I entered, glaring at Ken's sling as if the fabric itself had offended him. I was trying not to scream at the boy, yelling at him for nearly killing two children, Ken and myself. I grabbed a chair and sat by his bed, where he glared at me with dark hatred. Ken imitated me.  
>"So let me guess, you fill the room with gas and try and kill both the kids and yourself. That way you don't have a child's blood on your hands" I said, getting right to the point.<br>Mason scowled "Good luck proving it".  
>I smiled teasingly "Thank you, but luck has no part in this. Matthew and Ashley, they are alive, and they saw everything".<br>Ken said "And Ashley already told us she saw you put the arsenic in the air conditioning. She didn't know what it was at he time, but now she does. Her and her brother are going to a foster home, where they'll be kept away from sick people like you". I shot Ken a sharp glance, signaling to him he had gone too far. Yes, Mason was a murderer, but he only wanted to be with the people he missed again. That could drive anyone to madness. After a few more questions Ken and I exited into the hall, where I leaned against the wall. Ken looked at me oddly, clearly wondering if I was in pain.  
>"Ken, do you believe in ghosts?".<br>He looked taken back at this straightforward question, and only shrugged and said "I don't know".  
>"I do not. If there is a such thing as ghosts that would mean all the people we lost, they would be stuck here".<br>He looked at me knowingly, and I had a feeling that someone had told him about my breakdown in the waiting room. How I had confessed to killing my parents and little sister. "When I woke up, I thought it was the accident all over again" I said "I thought Sofia was back, that I had dreamed her death".  
>Ken grabbed my arm in a comforting way, sending shivers down my spine. "But you didn't. She's dead, but you aren't. Your still here".<br>It would be impossible to say which one of us had leaned in first. It had started with our eyes locking, his hand still wrapped around my arm. The next thing I know his mouth was on mine. And there we were, the ex-marine with his arm in a sling, the poisoned woman, kissing in a hospital. Not exactly the most romantic moment on the planet, but it was mine.  
>"I know" I said when I pulled away. I remembered Annie. "And you are still here too". I smiled at him, and I knew there was one thing that was running through both of our minds.<br>_'No matter who walks out of your life, what physical pain you're in, it never hurts as much as having someone being forcibly ripped from your life. Because after that there are always days where you wish you were dead. Days where it's what doesn't kill you that you have to worry about'._

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**To _mozz-girl:_**

**Seriously? That means the world to me, you have no idea :) Thanks so so so so much.  
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